Hi Deborah,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Thank you for this question. The
Disney Dining Plans are one of my favorite topics!
Guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel can book a dining plan as part of a resort vacation package. There are currently three dining plan options - the Quick Service Plan, Disney Dining Plan and the Deluxe Dining Plan. With each plan, guests 3-years old and over receive meals plus two snacks per night of stay along with a resort refillable mug. The differences in the plans are the number and types of meals included. On the Quick-Service plan, guests receive two quick-service meals per night of stay. With the Disney Dining Plan, guests receive one table-service and one quick-service meal per night of stay. On the Deluxe Dining Plan, guests receive three meals per night of stay - these can be quick-service or table-service meals.
Quick-Service meals include one entrée and one non-alcoholic beverage. Table-service meals include one entrée and one non-alcoholic beverage or one buffet or family style meal at breakfast. At lunch and dinner, table-service meals also include dessert with the entrée or guests can get a buffet. My family has done the Disney Dining Plan and the Deluxe Dining Plan. We prefer the Deluxe Dining Plan now that our girls are older.
Remember that meals are calculated per night of stay. If you stay five nights, each guest receives 10 meals on the Disney Dining Plan (5 quick-service and 5 table-service). We use our quick-service meals for lunch and table-service meals for dinner.
All of your meals and snacks are loaded onto your account once you arrive and you can use them in the order you prefer. I plan our meals for the week to be sure we do not deplete them before our last day.
Deborah, I hope this helps!
-Donyell